Strange Bedfellows
by Tracy Diane Miller
Summary: Miguel Diaz becomes an unlikely hero in helping Gary prove his innocence in Scanlon's murder.


Strange Bedfellows  
  
Summary: Miguel Diaz becomes an unlikely hero in helping Gary prove his innocence in Scanlon's murder. This very short story, inspired by Fatal Edition, is a continuation of Heartbeat Away from Capture.  
  
Disclaimer: Early Edition characters belong to whoever created them. No copyright infringement intended. No profit is being made. Some of the dialogue that appears in this story is not my own, but belongs to the writer of the episode "Fatal Edition."  
  
Author: Tracy Diane Miller  
  
E-mail address: tdmiller82@hotmail.com  
  
  
  
Strange Bedfellows  
  
Something just wasn't adding up. This notion did a waltz inside of Miguel Diaz's head so many times that even after the tempo slowed and the music finally stopped, Miguel still found his mind engaged in a fervent dance, a salsa of doubt. Something just wasn't adding up. Sure Hobson was a nut case. Only a nut case would dare hold up traffic and risk the ire of impatient drivers so that he could play crossing guard to a school of ducks. And Hobson did cause him a lot of grief. The guy just always seemed to show up and be in the thick of disaster. Hobson was like an annoying little gnat that you would hit. You'd hear a defeated buzz and figured that you killed the intrusion. Of course, regardless of how powerful a blow you delivered, the insect would reappear at a later time to torment you. Hobson got him fired, not once but twice. Okay, so the guy did save his life, but he was doing just fine without interference from Gary Hobson.  
  
Admittedly, Miguel didn't shed any tears over Scanlon's death. Scanlon was poison, the human equivalent of hemlock. It was surprising that Scanlon managed to live for as long as he did. No doubt Scanlon made enemies and ruined a lot of lives because of his stories. And his inflated ego didn't exactly endear him to his colleagues. So the guy had a Pulitzer. So what? Miguel knew that he could be the best photojournalist the Sun-Times had ever seen if given the chance. Miguel had the talent and brains to cover a real story not take shots of pickles. Okay, so maybe he shouldn't have thrown a stapler at Hollingsworth, but Hollingsworth was an idiot. Miguel's instincts told him that he was sitting on a gold mine with the Hobson story. Miguel had gone through painstaking efforts in compiling that Hobson file; it was his story. Then Scanlon came in and blackmailed him, insinuated that he'd turn Luis over to INS, and took the file.  
  
Maybe Hobson had reason to kill Scanlon after all. Maybe Hobson did Chicago a public service. But Hobson would have been better off staying in jail and pleading insanity instead of fleeing from justice by jumping from that second floor courthouse window. Now that would have been a great shot. Miguel wished that he had been there to take that picture- Gary Hobson's flight (literally) from justice.  
  
Miguel was preoccupied with his thoughts as he left the Sun-Times building and proceeded to his car. When he opened the car door, he was unprepared for the sight that greeted him.  
  
"Hobson."  
  
The fugitive insisted that Miguel drive. The careworn car, battered by age, an underdog, perhaps like its owner, spurted down the Chicago streets as if it possessed a renewed sense of energy and determination.  
  
Miguel informed Gary that he wasn't carrying a lot of money right now.  
  
"I didn't come here for your money. I need your help. I need to know what Scanlon was working on before he died."  
  
Then Gary told Miguel what he knew about the murder for hire story. Miguel's appetite was whetted as he soaked in Gary's words. Part of him wanted to dismiss Gary, not get involved with this crazy fugitive. But then Gary said the magic words.  
  
"If you help me, it could be the biggest story that you ever had."  
  
The biggest story that he ever had. The chance to establish himself as a legitimate journalist. Besides, he kind of liked Hobson.  
  
"Exclusive, Hobson. Do you know what that means? Exclusive?"  
  
And that was it. In the silence that enveloped the car, an alliance was formed. Two men became "strange bedfellows" in their quest to solve a murder.  
  
The End. 


End file.
